An item is goods in a consignment sharing the same tariff classification, the same description, and — where origin is part of the declaration — the same origin. Three identical t-shirts are one item. A t-shirt and a pair of socks are two. Where origin is declared (it is carried in a full H1 declaration, but not in the simplified H6/H7 used for many low-value parcels), the same t-shirt from two countries is two items. On a declaration that omits origin, that split does not apply — so which declaration your carrier uses changes the count.
Source: Definition of “item” is Art. 1(61) UCC-DA (not Reg. 2026/382, which contains no such definition): shared classification, description and, where the declaration carries it, origin. Origin present in H1, absent in H6/H7. Confirm against the Official Journal.
Under the normal rules customs can sometimes charge a whole mixed parcel at the highest applicable duty rate. Where the €3 regime applies, that shortcut is not permitted — each item is counted on its own. So a five-item parcel is €15 in duty, not €3, and not one blended rate.
Source: Aggregation to the highest rate (Art. 177 UCC / Art. 228 UCC-IA) not permitted where €3 applies — legal basis file.
Paste an order into the calculator and it breaks the parcel into items the way customs does — including splitting the same product across two origins.
Open the tool →Every claim on this page is sourced to the regulation, not to a summary of it. DutyVault verifies against primary EU texts (EUR-Lex, DG TAXUD). None of this has been reviewed by a customs lawyer, and consistency with a text is not the same as being right about your exact situation — it is a starting point that makes a lawyer’s hour cheap.
Verified 14 Jul 2026 · rules current to the €3 interim regime (1 Jul 2026 – 1 Jul 2028) and the March 2028 reform.